<p>Sales fell 14 per cent to $12.92 billion, partly reduced by a deferral of $1.47 billion in revenue to future quarters related to Microsoft offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 for recent buyers of the predecessor Vista system. That beat analysts’ average forecast of $12.31 billion.<br /><br />Microsoft’s results follow better than expected earnings from technology rivals like Intel, Google and Apple.</p>
<p>Sales fell 14 per cent to $12.92 billion, partly reduced by a deferral of $1.47 billion in revenue to future quarters related to Microsoft offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 for recent buyers of the predecessor Vista system. That beat analysts’ average forecast of $12.31 billion.<br /><br />Microsoft’s results follow better than expected earnings from technology rivals like Intel, Google and Apple.</p>